The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Friends Action Network is a grassroots network of faculty, students, staff, alumni and community members committed to building public support for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system's annual legislative requests.

Minnesota State Legislature - What"s New

The Chronicle (February 2009): An internal newsletter for the Office of the Chancellor

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The House Finance committee passed HF 3448, the higher education policy bill yesterday morning and sent it to the floor. The Senate companion bill, SF 184, sponsored by Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, awaits action by the full Senate. You may view HF 3448 here .

Prior to passage, the committee adopted three amendments to the bill. The first amendment adopted that relates to the system is regarding a surgical technologists pilot project. Under the provision, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is to establish a pilot project to develop partnerships and training and employment opportunities for surgical technologists with a health care facility located within 25 miles of each one of the six accredited surgical technologist programs in the system.

The other amendment related to the system is regarding a nanotechnology report. By Feb. 1, 2011, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities are required to report to the Legislature on ways nanotechnology is used responsibly through standards and guidelines that protect public health and the environment and provide for occupational health and safety.

The nanotechnology amendment was also discussed as an informational item yesterday in the House Housing Finance and Policy and Public Health Finance Division. Members of the committee were interested in learning more about the safety aspects in nanotechnology. Gail O'Kane, system director for education industry partnerships, told committee members about the programs within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system that are focused on nanotechnology and informed members that the programs operate under OSHA standards.

Deb Newberry with Dakota County Technical College testified in front of the committee both as an instructor of nanotechnolgoy and from the national perspective of developing safety and environmental guidelines for nanotechnology.

Newberry spoke about the approaches to safety and ethics issues in Dakota County Technical College's program as well as other programs. Newberry also told the committee that it would be difficult to report on how the system's practices compare with national guidelines on nanotechnology as there are none yet. Newberry said the scientific and regulatory communities are working hard to develop guidelines, but the challenge is enormous since there at least a dozen interactive variables that would determine whether a particular use of a particular nanoparticle is toxic or environmentally harmful.